On Oct. 21, high-speed genetic sequencing spared a child from having to undergo surgery at Rady Children’s Hospital San Diego.

An infant with a life-threatening illness was about to enter the operating room when the baby’s doctor received a last-minute phone call.

“We called up and said, ‘Stop the operation,’” said Dr. Stephen Kingsmore, director of the Rady Children’s Institute of Genomic Medicine. An analysis performed in only three day’s time by the institute’s genetics team changed the newborn’s diagnosis, indicating that surgery was not needed.